Muhammad Iqbal
Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 1877 in Sialkot Punjab British India-now Pakistan died 21 April 1938 in Lahore Punjab) was a poet and philosopher. He inspired Muslims in Britain Indian Empire to work toward having a separate state in which they would be free to live by Islamic precepts. This dream he helped to create became Pakistan. Knighted in 1922, Iqbal influence extended far beyond poetry.
Early Life and Education
Iqbal was born into a devout family of small merchants in Sialkot. He studied at Government College Lahore, and then spent four years (1905–1908) in Europe, where he earned a degree in philosophy from the University of Cambridge qualified as a barrister in London and received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Munich. His dissertation The Development of Metaphysics in Persia unveiled aspects of Islamic mysticism previously unfamiliar in Europe.
Career and Change of Outlook
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On his return from Europe Iqbal began practicing law but it was for his poetry in Persian and Urdu that he is famous. His works are neo-classical in style and popular for public recitation everywhere where memorized verse is part of tradition.
In the early phase Iqbal poetry was nationalist in theme like his NayaShawala (The New Altar) . His time abroad however saw him change and he was to criticize his latest home for patronizing nationalism that encouraged racism and imperialism in Europe and had no common goal in India. Till 1910 he began advocating Pan-Islamism this can be seen in his speech of Aligarh Islam as a Social and Political Ideal. His poetry was replete with attacks on Islam past glories and its decline now as well as calls for unity and reform. He believed reform could be achieved through individual empowerment via three stages: obedience to Islamic law self-discipline and recognition of one potential as a vicegerent of God. For Iqbal a life of active engagement was superior to ascetic withdrawal.
Major Works and Themes
Iqbal major Urdu poems including Shikwah (The Complaint) Jawab-e Shikwah (The Answer to the Complaint) and Khizr-e Rāh (Khizr the Guide) were published in Bang-e Dara (The Call of the Bell) in 1924. Through these works he voiced the agony of Muslim weakness with Khizr-a figure of the Quran-presenting the intricate problems of the early 20th century.
His long Persian poem, Asrar-e Khudi (The Secrets of the Self 1915) brought him widespread acclaim and controversy. In a full pan-Muslim critique Iqbal took issue with classical Islamic mysticism quietism by using the formula of creative self-affirmation as a primary virtue of Islam. Those who criticized him stated that he engrafted themes of Friedrich Nietzsche onto Islamic ideas. The companion poem Rumuz-e Bikhudi (The Mysteries of Selflessness 1918) had pronounced self-surrender encouraging service to the ideals of brotherhood and justice as the ultimate form of self-realization.
Later Works
